Idle Days
by Discreetly
Summary: Azula, age 12, tried to find something to do and ends up getting more than she bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Not sure where I would place this on the "timeline." I'm thinking somewhere before Book 2, when Ty Lee and Mai are gone off doing their own thing, Azula, age 12-14, is doing whatever she can to keep herself entertained.

I've been working on this one for a real long time now, I've just never got around to finishing it. It's a couple chapters, maybe five of this sort of length.

* * *

The Princess would sometimes begin her day by waking up and immediately saying, "I'm bored

Some days Azula would wake at midday, open her eyes, sit up and very plainly state to no one in particular, "I'm bored."

This was never unexpected from the servant always waiting on hand. She was there every morning to deliver a wet towel for the princesses' face or anything else for that matter. At first she had been offset from the girl's sudden almost random statement, but now she had grown used to it enough that she could automatically reply: "My apologies, princess."

To which Azula would throw the servant a sour stare, but silently take the towel anyways and wipe the sand from her eyes.

"Fetch me my clothes. Something comfortable." Azula would say with a bit of a sigh, dropping the towel carelessly into the perfectly waiting hands of her servant.

The maid would then bow her head, carefully put away the towel and begin to shuffle away. "Of course, Princess." She would say…

It was a routine that happened only sparingly through the months. Azula was after all, a princess, there was always something to do for her so she was rarely bored. There were things to do, laws to pass and enforce, people to meet and possibly kill, and territories to be visited and subsequently conquered. But then there were days when someone would arbitrarily decide that she needed a break and there'd be an entire day with absolutely nothing for her to do. And Azula who always kept a tight eye on her schedule would begin those days by very explicitly saying just how bored she already was.

From there the day would end in either two ways, Azula would find something to amuse herself with or she'll have found nothing to do except torment everyone else, which she always did exceedingly well.

* * *

Azula had taken to the viewing balcony outside her room. It had a commanding view of the capital and a mock-throne that Azula used to use in her little fantasies in becoming Fire Lord. She would proudly sit there, legs straight, hands perfectly positioned on the armrests and her posture perfect. Now though, the only use the "throne" got was as a bed. Azula sat in it with her legs thrown up over one armrest, her head placed lazily on the other, nearly sleeping.

"I'm bored." The princess said again, her eyes completely closed.

"My apologies, Princess." The servant, always stationed nearby, responded calmly, though she didn't have the luxury of relaxing as Azula did. She knelt on her knees in a corner of the balcony, always trying to make her presence as insignificant as possible. But Azula would always notice.

"I want to do something."

"I see."

"Find something to entertain me."

"Would the Princess like to have the circus called or perhaps the acting troupe?"

"Neither, I want something to _do_, not watch."

"May I suggest a game of Pai-"

"No."

"Then my apologies, Princess, I do not know what I can do to entertain you."

Azula opened her eyes. "I have an idea."

"Yes, Princess?"

"We'll play a game of Hide and Seek."

"Pardon?"

"I'll give you exactly one minute to dash out of this room, find an appropriate hiding spot – make it a good one, don't disappoint me – and after 60 seconds, I'll come out and find you."

"That's it?"

"Of course," Azula looked at her servant, "There will be a punishment if you're found."

"Wha-"

"Sixty.

Fifty-nine.

Fifty-eight."

The servant jumped to her feet suddenly and dashed out the door. Partly because that's what Azula asked her to do. Another reason was that for just a second, the servant saw it. An odd glimmer in Azula's eye and the slight tightening of her cheeks, as if she were suppressing a smirk. And the woman had been in Azula's service long enough to know when the Princess was scheming something.

Her worries however, were misplaced. The servant certainly did know Azula better than the Princess would like to admit. There was definitely a devious glint in Azula's eyes as she started counting down, but it had nothing to do with the servant girl. In fact, all Azula was thinking about was how to get rid of her attendee quickly and quietly so she could sneak out of the palace.

Not that Azula was confined to the Palace like some sort of damsel in distress, but the whole process of assembling bodyguards, planning a route and bringing along a tour guide even when she didn't want one didn't appeal at all to Azula. It was bureaucratic and stupid, but most of all it was just too many people, it would be a hassle having to move with them all.

But now that there wasn't anyone to get in her way, it shouldn't be that hard for someone like Azula to sneak out with anyone noticing.

And it wasn't.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Just for the Record, I hate fanfiction .net and its overly complicated way of putting up stories. Just too much stuff for someone like me to handle. Bleh.

* * *

Well, Azula thought to herself, this is a bit disappointing.

Not that the princess had been expecting all that much from the common people, but she had been hoping for something a bit more exciting. She had managed to sneak out and get down to the surrounding city, but she was hardly entertained. For one thing, shouldn't there be pickpockets, fistfights and brutal robberies occurring left and right? Just something in general to make the city meet the stereotypical level of violence and be a little more thrilling…

So far the only thing she had seen so far were people milling around almost aimlessly, no words spoken, no unusual movements and no sign that any of them planned on doing anything even remotely interesting.

Granted, Azula had only been out of the Palace walls for five or so minutes, but as far as she was concerned, that was no excuse.

Soon enough, though, Azula's wish was about to be bestowed.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Came a voice, low, dull and at the moment, enraged.

A small boy rounded a corner, running as hard as he could, a loaf of bread caught between his teeth.

"Somebody, stop that kid!"

A man appeared around the same corner, panting and swearing and screaming, "Stop him! Thief!"

The boy was counting on no one in the crowd noticing him and for the most part, it was a smart move. However Azula spotted his ragged form easily.

As the little street urchin approached, Azula made a small sidestep into his path and raised an open palm in the boy's oncoming nose.

Azula was ready for the impact, having planted her feet and shifted her weight. The boy however, was flat on the ground with a sickening _crack_, nose bleeding and loaf of bread long lost.

"You sniveling little brat…" The red-faced yelling man had shown up, his breath still coming in a little shallow. "I'm going to-"

"Excuse me." Azula spoke and the man finally realized her presence. "Yes, I was just wondering what my reward might be for aiding you."

"Reward?" The man scoffed, "Why the hell should I give you a reward?"

The princess arched an eyebrow. "Because I was the one who caught your thief."

"Hah!" He laughed. "All I see is that this kid fell like an idiot."

"So you're not going to give me a reward?"

"No!"

"That's a shame."

Just as the man was about to respond with guffawing laughter to the girl's audacity, Azula had already leapt forward, planted one foot on the man's shoulder, quickly built her momentum and swung her other foot squarely in the man's chin in a flip.

He fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Now what do to do with you?" Azula said, looking down at her earlier victim as she gracefully landed. The boy was still bleeding from his nose and struggling to understand what had just happened to him. "You must be worth something, right? Don't tell me you were just a waste of my time."

The boy groaned, blinking his eyes at the Princess who was leaning over him and smiling at his discomfort.

"What…" The boy stared at her puzzled then down to the unconscious body of the man who had been chasing him. "How'd he end up like that?"

Azula shrugged.

"Well…" The boy rubbed at his nose, trying to get the blood to stop, but only making it worse. "Whatever, it doesn't matter, let's just get out of here before he wakes up."

Without waiting for a reply, the boy grabbed Azula's hand and began to lead her off, running away from the scene of the crime.

There was a moment when the princess considered snapping the boy's wrist and maybe a few other parts, but that quickly faded away. After all, something interesting was certainly happening.


End file.
